Kerala killer made the first sacrifice to the couple, didn't work: Top constable

 Kerala killer made the first sacrifice to the couple, didn't work: Top constable

Kochi Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said the allegations of cannibalism were yet to be proved.

New Delhi:

A senior police officer told NDTV that the prime accused in the homicide killings in Kerala, which stunned the nation, convinced the couple to do it twice, saying it didn't work the first time, a senior police officer told NDTV. The police officer told NDTV how they would first kill their victims and then mutilate the bodies.

Kochi Police Commissioner CH Nagaraju said, "As far as the behavior of these accused is concerned, we have understood that they will first kill and then cut them into pieces and then bury them."

"[Main accused Muhammad] Shafi convinced the other two accused [Bhagwal Singh and his wife Laila] that their financial condition did not improve much by the first sacrifice... there were some 'ritual problems' in the first incident, so they Will have to do one more," he said.

Describing the behavior of the killers as "very, very unusual", the police officer said the wounds inflicted on the two victims are similar to those of a 75-year-old woman who was sexually assaulted by Shafi two years ago.

The police chief said the allegations of cannibalism were yet to be proved. “As far as the evidence is concerned, it is a case of human sacrifice. And whether cannibalism is there or not, it has not been proved yet,” Mr. Nagaraju said.

Now we have totally two incidents with us... The first incident, which happened during June, is said to have some such (cannibalism) background. These are stories that are being talked about, but there is no convincing evidence of this. We have to gather scientific evidence for this."

Separately, police department sources told NDTV that the accused has confessed to the cannibalism charges, with Shafi assuring the other two that it would "increase their strength".

Describing it as "a very gruesome incident", Commissioner CH Nagaraju said the police had enough evidence to make a "continuous case" on charges of murder, kidnapping, cheating and destruction of evidence. "We are collecting more scientific evidence for this, we will do DNA tests," he said.

Nagaraju said, "By large, it is the case of one accused, whereby the other two accused believe that human sacrifice as a ritual is good for their financial 'upgradation' and the other two accused fall into this trap. "

He said the phenomenon is "very unusual in a place like Kerala, and it is an aberration". "It is not a widely practiced practice here. People here are very educated," the police officer said.